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This policy and its associated procedures, definitions, and forms have been established to provide consistent fiscal and administrative practices among the various service center units, and to ensure compliance with both government regulations and Dartmouth's internal accounting policies.
Dartmouth is a recipient of federal and other sponsored funding to perform research and other academic activities. Research, in particular, may involve the use of resources and core facilities (also known as cores). Each of these areas is organized to provide user services that facilitate research activity by providing products, expertise, state-of-the-art equipment and/or technology to more than one research group or department. Successful operation requires actively involved scientific and managing directors who interact effectively with researchers and administrative and financial staff. Service Center Staff should have an understanding of federal costing policies, Dartmouth financial policies and other applicable policies concerning facility operations such as environmental health and safety and security.
Given the complexity and breadth of knowledge and infrastructure necessary to effectively and compliantly operate a Service Center, this policy, and its associated procedures set forth the framework for creation and ongoing oversight of the financial and administrative aspects of these centers. While the focus of this document is administrative and financial in nature, Service Center managers are required to be knowledgeable of and comply with all other relevant Dartmouth policies.
Service centers are operating units that provide goods or services, principally to users within Dartmouth's academic, research or administrative community. A service center recovers the cost of its operations through charges to its users. Dissimilar services operated by the same department or division, for example a computer facility or a copy center or a machine shop, must be established as separate service center activities, with separate funds, budgets, and rates.
Service Centers are units within Dartmouth divisions, departments or centers that charge for goods or services that directly support Dartmouth's research or academic mission and recover costs through charges to internal and external users. All Service Centers are expected to recover no more than the aggregate costs of their operations through charges to users. All Service Centers must be able to demonstrate compliance with federal requirements, and cannot use fee structures that discriminate against federal or other funding sources. All Service Centers must follow the steps outlined in this policy and its associated procedures for approval to initiate a Service Center and for ongoing review and reporting.
Service Centers do not include auxiliary services such as dining services where a unit engages in sales of goods and services that are not directly tied to Dartmouth's mission.
This policy and its associated procedures, definitions, and forms have been established to provide consistent fiscal and administrative practices among the various service center units, and to ensure compliance with both government regulations and Dartmouth's internal accounting policies.
http://www.dartmouth.edu/control/policies/service-ctr-policies.html
http://www.dartmouth.edu/osp/resources/policies/
The cost of running the Service Center facility or providing the product is charged to users on a "rate" basis. Rates are generally formulated to recover the costs of operations such as salaries, benefits, maintenance, repairs, and supplies. There are three types of service centers defined as follows:
Throughout this document the term "service center" includes specialized service centers and recharge centers unless differentiated.
The following applies to all service centers:
The procedures, forms and instructions listed below can be found on the Controller's Office website: